miklagardfandomcom-20200214-history
Sanluoren
The copper dragonborn have had the historical misfortune of living along a small chain of islands between the mainland of Longguo and the island nation of the gold dragonborn. Their story has been that of a conquered people under perpetually alternating masters. Millenia of this shifting subjugation, and their strategic placement between the two powers, has lead to a culture unambitious and servile, yet cautious and secretive. Within the islands home to the copper dragonborn, under the current rule of Celestial Empire, now some 200 years in effect, they are forbidden from bearing arms, but have become adept and ruthlessly efficient martial artists. The gungfu styles of the copper islands are unadorned and precise, promoting powerful, efficient strikes, and unabashed lethality. The copper dragonborn have acted as a mercantile medium between the Celestial Empire and the mainland, especially the Kingdom of the Crimson Scale. Though not openly reviled or disdained, the copper dragonborn face a subtle pity from many of the other dragonborn and are sometimes referred to as "tarnished gold" or "pale red"-- a state of affairs which they can ill endure. The copper dragonborn have no official head of state, though each island has an official which reports to a governor among the golden dragonborn. In secret, these leaders among the copper had elected a leader of their people who, likewise in secret, disseminated his instructions and counsels among the fractured nation. A year ago, however, Xu Tzu, the copper leader-in-exile, was captured by an expedition of red dragonborn. Recently, an arrangement has been struck between the Kingdom of the Crimson Scale and the Celestial Empire in which the captured leader will be handed to the gold in exchange for the freedom of the island of Ri de She ("Tongue of the Sun"), upon which will be built a temple, and which will be used as a religious and cultural sanctuary for the copper dragonborn, under the dominion of Ng Zhurong, the first copper dragonborn in 600 years to be restored to the title of Sun Xun, Descendant of the Sun. Copper dragonborn are capable of breathing a jet of acidic, incindiary gas. This breath weapon has a range equal to 5' times the attacker's Stamina, and deals 2k1 damage per turn for a number of turns equal to the attacker's Earth Ring. In addition, the target's reduction is lowered by twice the attacker's Earth Ring (this allows for a negative reduction). Rishen, the copper Ur-Dragon, makes himself available to any dragonborn who desires to seek him out on his island home, but forbids any from taking up residence there. Styles of the Sanluoren (L5R rules) 'Sanrokan Karate' (4 XP) Sanrokan Karate (by its Golden Dragonborn name) is a system that was developed to allow a disarmed, subjugated people to combat and dispatch with armed attackers. It is efficient and ruthless, its movements are direct and linear. The style is characterized as a "hard" style, largely ignoring complicated feints, deceptions, and intricate parry-plays in favor of simple side-stepping and slight deflection, to maximize the access to the "centerline," the most direct line of attack to the target. Grabs and trips are included in its curriculum only as they are used to pull the target into a strike, to increase the force of impact. Copper dragonborn may take this style for free upon creation. Gold dragonborn may take it for a cost of 2 XP. A character whose martial education has been under the Sanrokan Karate system has learned explosive speed and power, and can treat their Unarmed attacks as Heavy Weapons, using their Heavy Weapon skill for attack rolls and benefiting from Heavy Weapon mastery abilities (but not Unarmed mastery abilities--they must declare one or the other). There is a saying in the Wuxia world about Sanrokan: "They do not block, they just attack your attack." The aggressive style ill prepares its practitioners for defensive fighting, and someone whose grounding is in Sanroken Karate cannot take a Defense or Full Defense stance. 'Wutie Sanrokan Karate '(6 XP) *Requirements: Strength 4, Agility 4, Sanrokan Karate Style The disciples of the school founded by Wu Tie focus on perfecting the simple but devastating reverse punch, believing that a single strike should suffice to decide an encounter, armed or unarmed. What begins as the humblest and most basic weapon in the arsenal of the xiake becomes, through rigorous devotion and repetition, as sudden and inexorable as a cannonball. The student of Wutie Sanrokan may choose a target and spend a simple action at the start of a round of combat to roll an additional Initiative roll and add it to their current score, but must assume the Full Attack stance this turn, and must use this turn to attack their target. This bonus is lost after their turn. Their commitment to the strike is unalterable, however, and the practitioner takes a -10 penalty to their Armor TN until the start of their next turn (this does mean that the penalty can stack to a maximum of -20 if used two consecutive turns).